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September 18, 2011

Say what you want about Ron Paul but The Man can turn out a crowd. When we rolled up to valet parking at the Marriott in LA, both sides of Olympic Boulevard were teeming with Paulistas waiting for his imminent arrival. Bullhorn Man crackled a warning: Two Minutes! The boisterous crowd erupted into cheers. Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Bullhorn Man was a bit optimistic on the timing of the arrival.

Paulistas From Here to Nokia Theater, Which Hosts the Emmys Tonight

Mrs TWC had a 9:00 AM call time for her panel on education reform, so she and moi weren't there to greet Ron Paul anyway. The California GOP convention scheduled Ron Paul's speech in the same time slot as the education reform panel, so there was some concern that his popularity would keep people away.

A half hour later, wild raucous cheering exploded through the hotel. Clearly, the Grand Entrance was under way. The cacohony momentarily interrupted our panel, which was upstairs on the second floor behind closed doors. Though nobody said his name, everybody knew, and most people smiled.

Mrs TWC

And who did Marriott hire to come up with the hideous yet unending circles? Pretty stoopid selection if your goal is to encourange an audience to focus on the speaker.

There may have been a few no-shows to the education panel, but it was a good crowd and included a couple of obvious teacher's union plants. Those guys were good on drama but they really need the other kind of drama lessons. After blathering inteminably, one shill demanded that panelist Ben Chavis pipe down and hear her out.....I listened to you! Now it's my turn! Really?

Straw Poll results here. Yes I know Straw Polls don't translate well into electoral victories. Yes I know that Paulistas are enthusiastic, young, mostly pretty tech savvy, and, more importantly, they show up and vote.

And the spoiled wine? Later several of us, including Ben Boychuk and Larry Sand, adjourned for lunch where TWC was served a glass of Franciscan Merlot that had obviously been stored uncorked next to the stove for a week. At twelve bucks a glass, the bartender should not be serving wine that has turned. And room temperature isn't 85 degrees. This happens way, way too frequently. Props to the waiter for cheerfully swapping out the spoiled wine for a fresh glass from a fresh bottle. If in doubt, Gentle Reader, always send it back. Life is too short to drink bad wine.